SONG OF THE DAY (#155)

'on and on,' by the longpigs

the britpop explosion of 1997 had, unfortunately, more than a few casualties as the suedes, blurs, pulps, oasis', and radioheads of the world marched across the pond. a few managed to break free from the small circle of devout fans to reach a broader audience, but a lot of them only managed to release a couple of albums before drifting off to relative obscurity and finding permanent housing in cut-out bins in record stores across the country.

the longpigs debut album, 'the sun is often out,' was one of the album i thought for sure would make it big. the songs were simply too great not to reach a wider audience. i remember seeing at them @ the casbah in san diego playing before about 20 people and thinking, 'why is this band not huge?' i saw them again open for echo & the bunnymen and again for another band (whose name escapes me at the moment). they even opened for u2 on a handful of dates. they seemed to have everything going for them: a charismatic, good-looking vocalist in crispian hunt, a tremendous and gifted guitarist in richard hawley, and a more than competent rhythm section that blasted out tunes with gusto, verve, enthusiasm, and hooks 'o plenty. they managed to release one more album after 'the sun is often out,' and then they were gone...

'on and on' was the only ballad on the album and in my opinion was the clear standout in an album chocked full of terrific songs. i don't think i made a single mix tape from 1997-2000 that didn't include 'on and on.' if you've not heard it before, i'm sure it'll be on every mix tape you make from here on out. check out the video here.

r.i.p. longpigs.

→ the longpigs: on and on
→ album: the sun is often out